Earthlings may have neighbors as close as 12 light years away, and plenty more beyond according to a new study based on observations by NASA’ Kepler Telescope.

In a survey of 42,000 Sun-like stars scanned by Kepler, 603 planets were found, 10 of which are close to the size of Earth and orbit at about the same distance from their Sun as we do. This “habitable zone” offers conditions where surface liquid water can exist, and essential for life as we know it (see video below).

Erick Petigura at California’s University of Berkeley led the study, entitled “Prevalence ...